Why More Vacation Doesn't Always Mean Happier Workers

By Olga Khazan

August 14, 2013

When American writer Russell Shorto first moved to the Netherlands, he at first experienced some sticker-shock: 52 percent of his income, he learned, would be taken away in taxes. A few months later, though, some of that money reappeared in an unexpected way:

In late May of last year an unexpected $4,265 arrived in my account:vakantiegeld. Vacation money. This money materializes in the bank accounts of virtually everyone in the country just before the summer holidays; you get from your employer an amount totaling 8 percent of your annual salary, which is meant to cover plane tickets, surfing lessons, tapas: vacations. And we aren't talking about a mere "paid vacation" -- this is on top of the salary you continue to receive during the weeks you're off skydiving or snorkeling. And by law every employer is required to give a minimum of four weeks' vacation.

Even the unemployed, Shorto points out, receive vacation money from the government -- after all, being jobless is depressing enough without enduring the horror of a life without all-inclusive cruises.